Little pied cormorant
| Little pied cormorant | |
|---|---|
| in New South Wales | |
| in Tasmania | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Chordata | 
| Class: | Aves | 
| Order: | Suliformes | 
| Family: | Phalacrocoracidae | 
| Genus: | Microcarbo | 
| Species: | M. melanoleucos | 
| Binomial name | |
| Microcarbo melanoleucos (Vieillot, 1817) | |
| Range of the little pied cormorant | |
| Synonyms | |
| Phalacrocorax melanoleucos | |
The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (Microcarbo melanoleucos) is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.